Starting Over
by lolagurrl27
Summary: Percy is alone. His parents are dead. Annabeth is missing. All he cares for and loves is gone. Now he is being sent to a certain rainy city to live with his uncle Charlie. But in a certain rainy city, with a certain coven of vampires, and a certain demigod, things are bound to happen. Will he be reunited with his love, Annabeth? Will he reveal his true identity? r&r to find out!
1. A New Life

-PERCY'S POV-  
I laid a flower on my mother and stepfather's grave. A white tulip for my mom, a periwinkle magnolia for Paul. I still couldn't really accept the fact that they were dead. Gone. And that I would never, _ever_ see them again- as long as I was alive. But considering the circumstances in my life, that might not be lasting very long either. (sorry for the melodrama, lol) It had happened so suddenly. The three of us- Mom, Paul, and I-were cruising in Paul's Prius around Rockefeller Center for a parking space so that we could go see the Christmas trees, when the beat-up blue Mustang had rounded the corner without notice- the screeching of tires, the blaring of the car horn, the screams...Christmas...that seemed like a childish memory now. It was winter, the year after the Titan War. We were seventeen, and everything had seemed so perfectly calm and happy. But now the delicate piece was shattered like a broken plate, the once-beautiful fragments scattered everywhere, irreparable, and my world had turned upside-down. I hadn't even gone to Mom and Paul's funeral. I was still unconscious, and they for some reason decided to have a couple's funeral when their kid was still bleeding and half-dead in the hospital. Logical. Pretty jacked up life, huh?

And to mess it up even more, since technically I wasn't yet an adult and I was way too old to live in an orphanage, I was being sent from Manhattan all the way across the country to the rainy little city of Forks to go live with my Mom's step-brother, Charlie and his daughter Bella, all the way in Washington. Lovely. Just _lovely_. Why couldn't I just stay year-round in Camp Half-Blood, you would ask? Or live with Annabeth or something? Yeah, good question. Annabeth had gone missing right when my parents died. I guess my life just wasn't going to let me miss the cherry on top. And as for camp, I just couldn't bring myself to face all the memories there. All the good times with Annabeth, with my mom, with Paul...the fragments and memories of when my life wasn't as messed up as it was now. A yellow taxi rounded the corner, and I raised my hand, hefting my suitcase on my shoulder. It wasn't much-just an old, scratched and dented black suitcase. I just needed one to pack up all my meager belongings. Plus a backpack for demigod emergency stuff. I wondered how all those weapons were going to go past the metal detector. Oh, well. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for something to go right in my life. Of course, not that my life was worth very much these days. Sorry for the melodrama. It just seemed fitting. The cabbie glared at me as I roughly hauled the suitcase in the trunk and slammed the door, taking a swing of who-knows-what from a grimy thermos. Amen, brother. Cheers to the start of my new, jacked up life.

We arrived at the airport in twenty minutes. I handed the driver a wad of cash as he sped away, nearly missing running over my foot and farting a puff of smoke in my face. Cursing, I walked inside the airport. As for the flight, Zeus had granted me special permission to fly in his domain, but that didn't mean that I wasn't terrified. My hands were gripping the armrests the whole time, which didn't really guarantee the comfort of my arms. By the time it was done, my face was white and the skin on my hands were pale and stretched enough to split over the knuckles. Great. Another injury to add on my ever-growing list of casualties.

I had arrived in Seattle. It wasn't much different from New York, but I had heard enough about Forks, how it was almost always dark and rainy, and how much forest and green there was shrouding the city. Which meant that the whole Seattle-Forks area was a monster hotspot. City alleyways + a bajillion acres of forest= Percy's screwed.

"Percy!" I turned to see a middle-aged, dark haired man with dark brown curls and sparkling, chocolate brown eyes. Next to him was another dark haired girl-Bella, I assumed-and the first thing I noticed about her was her eyes. They were the same, sweet, rich shade of chocolate brown as Charlie's, and now as I thought about it, even if they technically weren't related, they all looked a heck of alot like Mom, especially with the warm smile and kind eyes. Mom. Mom...crap. Anyways, unlike her dad, Bella was pale, like an albino, and her hair was the same dark chestnut shade but straight and long. Pretty, I guess, in that natural way like Anna- you know what? Screw this, screw my life. I'm not talking anymore.

Putting on a small fake smile, I waved back and walked over to them. Mentally I did a once-over of my first-impression outfit- ripped black jeans and a clean white short-sleeved t-shirt, with a gray hoodie and grey Converse. Yeah, they were casual, but at least they weren't bloody and ripped like my others. But my hair-there wasn't really much you could do about it. It was always jet black and rumpled, like I had just rolled out of bed, which was true most of the time- but no amount of hairspray or hair gel could tame my wild mane of hair. Sure, I could make it look at least presentable with a comb, but neat? Never. Charlie smiled, showing the smile wrinkles in his weathered face and the twinkle in his eyes.

"Hey, Percy! Long time no see. You've grown a lot! Say, you remember Bella here?" I smiled and nodded.

"Of course. How could I forget Little Miss Clumsy?" Charlie laughed heartily and Bella blushed. Mom and I had come here once when I was five for my birthday. That was...what, twelve years ago? Anyways, Bella had accidentally knocked over the cake, the 2-liter bottle of punch, and the candles, accidentally setting the rug on fire and making a pretty impressive mess. It was really funny, and I always teased her about it. Thankfully, it didn't get her mad but instead made her laugh and blush instead. I was never too sensitive about feelings when it came to girls and teasing. Charlie clapped his hand on my back.

"You'll fit in well here. I hope you enjoy Forks. Sometimes it seems a little depressing, with the rain and all, but I'm sure you'll grow to love it. It's pretty safe, and its got some decent people. You'll be meeting some of _them_ soon enough," he added rather flatly. I looked at Bella, confused.

"Oh," she said. "He means the Cullens. Um, there's Dr. Cullen. Um, Carlisle. He works at the hospital, and his wife Esme. They have a bunch of adopted children. There's Alice Cullen, the most annoying girl you'll ever meet, Jasper and Rosalie Hale, Rosalie's really pretty but they're both kind of quiet, Emmett Cullen, he's super strong and also really annoying, and Edward Cullen, he's, um, my boyfriend." Was it my imagination, or did Charlie stiffen at the mention of the word "boyfriend"? Huh. Whatever. Not my duty to pry, anyways.

"Well," Charlie said, his smile a little forced now, "Let's drive home."

In half an hour we were at Charlie's house. It was a bit small, and I remembered it only having two rooms. Charlie must have saw my puzzled expression, and grimaced slightly.

"You won't be staying here. Bella will be moving with you to her, ah, _boyfriend's_ house and you two will be staying with the Cullens." My mouth opened.

"Um, but I don't even know them and if they'll like me, or-" Bella cut me off.

"It's fine. The Cullens are very open to others and their house is huge. They won't mind letting you use a room. And it's all settled anyways, they know about everything. It's fine, Percy."

Charlie nodded. "I'll be seeing you guys every week, so try not to feel _too_ sad." We all laughed, and loaded our bags into Bella's old Chevy. Waving, Bella and I departed to the Cullen's home.

"_Holy_" and "_shit_" were my first words when I saw the Cullen's place. It was a huge, glass-and-wood mansion in the middle of the woods. It made Rachel's house look small. Rachel...ah, dammit.

"Well," I stammered, my eyes still transfixed on the house. "Let's go inside, shall we?"

The Cullens were waiting for us on the doorstep. Bella sprinted over, tripping on a root, then steadying herself before running into the arms of a pale, handsome, bronze-haired guy about seventeen with golden eyes- Edward, I assumed. I bit back a shudder as I remembered the golden eyes of Kronos. Pushing the thought aside, I stepped forward hesitantly, inspecting the rest of the family. Next to Edward was a beautiful blonde-Rosalie? A big, buff guy with curly dark hair and a playful grin-Emmett? A slightly shorter blonde male-Jasper? A kind looking woman, pretty with dark hair, sweet eyes, and that total motherly look about her-Bella had said something about a wife. Esme? Holding her hand was a young blonde man about her age, still in a white coat as if he had just come home from the hospital. The doctor, Carlisle? And lastly, a slight, pixie-like girl with dark, close-cropped hair and a bored expression on her face. She was staring down at the ground, fiddling with her fingers...

"_Alice_?"

**heheheheheh...sorry for the cliffy. :P luv you guys too**

**note: i wrote a bunch of chapters at a time, so i'll be updating pretty quickly for the most part. but thanks to the brutal amount of total ****_shit_**** they call homework these days that my evil teachers assign me, i won't be updating too often after a while. sorry. *sniffles* ): **

**anyways, don't forget to r&r! i'll give you cookies (no, they aren't sally jackson's blue cookies, sorry) and maybe throw in a few waffles here and there. **

**(::)(#)(::)(#)(::) **

**how's that for bait. so yeah, please review! it means a lot to me. luv you all! 3**

**"yours in demigodishness, and all that. peace out." -leo valdez, ****_the son of neptune :D_**

**so yeppp, yours truly, lolagurrl27. **

**P.S. be sure to check out some of my other stories, too!**

**1. the prom: before, at, & after- basically a story where all the PJ and HoO characters go to the prom, all that. lots of fluff. some swearing and make out scenes, references to sex. (*gasp* *devilish smile*) i know i haven't been updating this one for a while, but i'll definitely try!**

**2. reunited- one of those percabeth meet in high school stories, some shooting (don't you just love it when hot guys get injured? :D), etc. i'm sorta considering dropping this one. if anybody has any ideas to continue the story (cuz i have no idea how...stupid writer's block), then PLEASE let me know! i'll dedicate the next chapter to you. (:**

**3. broken- percy gets framed and exiled to tartarus for a crime he didn't commit. he comes back, a bunch of percabeth drama, yada yada. one more question: should percy get back together with annabeth? i'm sorta considering saying that annabeth was possessed by some evil fragment of kronos' revenge hungry bitchy spirit, but i also want to do that whole dramatic...**

***percy come back from tartarus, arrives at olympus with a cold expression on his face. thalico stand protectively by his side.***

**annabeth: "percy!" comes running, crying and smiling. **

**percy stares at her expressionlessly, his eyes hollow. "i don't know you." **

**"what?"**

**percy stares at her blankly. "i ****_said._**** i don't know you. you're not the smart, fun-loving, understanding annabeth chase i fell in love with. one vote. that was all it would have taken for me to have been considered innocent. you have ****_no_**** idea, ****_none,_**** of how much pain i felt in tartarus, how much i went through. look at all of these scars. do you see what kronos did to me? you knew my fatal flaw. loyalty. do you know what it means? it drives you to ****_save_**** people, not ****_kill_**** them. you knew that. if you had just kept your hand down, i wouldn't have had to go through all this. and guess what? i was innocent. i never killed my brother, and i never would have. you know, i was going to take you out that day. take you out to montauk, enjoy the night together. i had dinner planned, everything. and you banished me to hell. and you expect me to forgive you? you think that ****_sorry's_**** going to cut it? i had my hopes up. i expected ****_you,_**** of all people to believe me. but..." his voice falters and he looks down, walking away. right as he opens the doors to the throne room, he looks back. "****_luke_****...sends his apologies." **

**the door slams.**

**soo...how's that? vote for either one, k? but the problem is, i don't know who to pair percy with after annabeth. heeelp!**

**thanks for all your support, guys, and keep reading! BYE**


	2. Settling In

Alice? What the Hades was Alice doing here? Nevertheless, my face broke into a grin, and her eyes widened. "P-Percy? What're you doing all the way here?"

I shrugged, and gestured to Bella. "Cousin." I stepped forward and hugged her. "I missed you, Alice. But what happened to Alice Brandon, hm?" She had the decency to look sheepish.

"Yeah, well, I'm Alice Cullen now. Whatever. I'm still the same old Alice." I rolled my eyes.

"Yep. Short, annoying, arrogant, what else?." She glared.

"Shut up, kid!" I raised my hands in surrender. "It's true, but whatever." Edward and Emmett laughed, while Bella, Carlisle, Jasper, and Esme suppressed smiles. Rosalie still had her poker face on. Alice glared at me again and crossed her arms.

"I could say the same about you, you know?"

"'Cept I'm not short. Or as annoying as you are." I pointed out.

"Oh, bring it on, Seaweed Brain!"

I put my hand to my heart in mock hurt and pouted. "Ouch. Low blow there, Sunshine."

"You little-"

Carlisle stepped forward and placed a hand on Alice's shoulder, effectively cutting her off before she could go into a cussing rampage. "Alice," he warned. "Not now. Greetings first, shall we? Then you two could fight all you want, as long as you don't tear him apart." I smiled and faced the young doctor. Carlisle turned and held out a hand. "You must be Percy," he said warmly.

"Yep. Percy Jackson. Nice to meet you, Dr. Cullen." I shook his hand, resisting the urge to flinch. His hand was ice cold. What do these people do, stick their hands in freezers in their free time? Behind Carlisle, I heard Edward chuckle. Weird.

"No need for that, please, call me Carlisle." I nodded. "Sure thing, doc." I saw the quizzical expression on his face and grinned. "I'm kidding. Sorry." The Cullens laughed, and Carlisle introduced me to the everyone else. When he was done, Emmett sauntered over and clapped me on the back. "Welcome to the family, Percy."

They seated themselves on a pristine white set of couches in their living room (which was about twice the size of our whole apartment) and I did the same.

"So," Edward said after a while. "How did you come to know Alice?" Damn it. This was going to be a long story. Assuming they didn't kick me out halfway and call the cops. But wait...I didn't have to tell them all about my messed up world of Greek gods and all that crap.

"Uh," I blurted finally. "we met at a summer camp."

Which was half true. She was a mortal, terrified and hiding in the borders of camp when Chiron accepted her and took her in. She'd gone and come back hundreds of years later, still the same age, and that was when I'd met her. Obviously she was something, maybe not a monster, but definitely close.

Edward nodded. "I see. Seems as if you two are very close?" I shrugged. "We just like to annoy each other a bit. Well, a lot." I glared at Alice and she smiled back at me smugly, encased in Jasper's arms. Esme stood up and clapped her hands. "Well, the introductions are over and we've talked for a while. Why don't we show Percy to his room and let him get settled in?" We stood and followed Esme up a flight of stairs and across a padded carpet to a huge room.

"Whoa."

A whole wall of the room was floor-to-ceiling glass, giving a full view of the leafy green forest, and one was made out of individually chiseled blocks of stone. The other two were a brilliant white, with navy accents. The room was beautifully upholstered, with modern, dark wood furniture and state-of-the-art savvy technology and gadgets for various tasks. There was a doorway in the wall leading to the bathroom- my own bathroom. Holy shit.

"This...is all for...me?" They nodded, amused.

"Wow," I finally managed. "Thank you so much but...you guys didn't have to spend so much money and time on me. I mean, seriously, I could make do with a closet as long as it had a place to sleep. I'm sorry for causing you such inconvenience..." I started rambling. I turned and saw that Esme's smile was a fraction of a degree smaller, and mentally facepalmed myself. Idiot. Edward chuckled again. Seriously, what was wrong with him?

"It's not like I'm not...grateful, I just feel bad for you to spend so much money on some loser guy who's not going to be so worthwhile." Esme smiled at me.

"No, dear, it's fine. And the girls and I love any excuse to redecorate, so you've actually done us quite a favor. And please, Percy, don't call yourself a loser. I'm sure we'll all be a wonderful family." I nodded hesitantly and set my battered suitcase and slightly less torn backpack down on the floor, careful to avoid the spotless white bedsheets. Emmett rumbled with laughter as he saw my futile attempts to keep the room

clean.

I smiled. "Well, in that case..." I leaped onto the bed in a lithe bound and laughed. "I could live with this!" I pressed a random button on a sleek black controller beside me, and the stone wall slid open to reveal another room. "Sweet, you built me a secret room?" I turned to the amused family in joyous disbelief. Holy Poseidon. Carlisle grinned. "Well, we'll let you get settled in, then."

An hour later, I had finished putting my clothes into the dark espresso dresser (Zeus had ordered Aphrodite to buy me a trunkful) and stashed my meager belongings beside the bed. I'd taken a shower, reenergizing myself with the water, (for the first time, allowing my hair to stay wet so that I wouldn't arouse suspicion) and changed into a sky blue shirt and jeans. It felt great. I headed downstairs, my hair still damp and glistening with water.

"Ah," Esme said, clapping her hands as I got closer. "Just in time for dinner, Percy."

"It smells great. Is that pasta I see?" Esme nodded and laughed.

"Of course. You and Bella will be eating. The rest of us are on a special diet. We already ate." That was weird.

"Okay." Man, even if she didn't eat, Esme's food was amazing. I wolfed down my pasta and helped myself to another bowlful. Bella stared at me with wide eyes. She was only halfway done with her first bowl.

"Dude, you must have been starving." I nodded through a mouthful of spaghetti. "Mhm." Emmett boomed with laughter.

"First time I've seen someone eat that fast. Enjoying your meal, Perce?" I nodded again and swallowed, giving him a thumbs-up while I took a gulp of water.

"Man, that was amazing. Thank you, Esme." Esme smiled in a very motherly way.

"Of course, dear."

I chugged down another glass of water and headed outside, turning to the others.

"Mind if I take a walk?" Carlisle nodded. "Go on ahead. Don't go very far, though, these woods can get confusing."

"Sure." I jogged out and disappeared into the leafy green forest.

Although overgrown and ugly on the outside, once you were inside the forest, man, it was beautiful. Streams flowing with clear, cold sparkling water trickled over shining grey boulders. (And no, it wasn't a stream with sparkling water. That would've been awesome, though. A Perrier stream. Mmmm. Anyways. Back to descriptions.) There was even a few mini waterfalls cascading down rocks, emptying down into pools of spring water. Lush green grass lined a crude pathway someone must have carved years ago. It was silent except for the occasional chirping of birds and the trickling of water. An aura of total peace I hadn't felt since my last date with Annabeth, when we had finally taken Grover's advice and traveled to Maine to enjoy the nature- and, of course, the privacy. A pang of sorrow ripped through my heart, but I pushed it back. That life was over now. Everyone I loved and cared about was gone. I was leaning on a fissure of rock next to a roaring waterfall, enjoying the view, when a wall of darkness slammed into me.

**XD another cliffy. i was impressed with the amount of reviews i got in a day, so i decided to update. THANKS GUYSSSS :D**

**luv ya all. heads up! i'll be starting a harry potter + percy jackson crossover fic soon. i don't know what to call it yet, but check for a fanfic by me (lolagurrl27, duh) and be sure to check it out! you guys are the best! lol thanx for the support, keep it up and i'll promise more, (hopefully) better chapters. BYE**

**-lolagurrl27**

**btw. i know its a bit OOC, sorry, but i'll make sure its not too much. like, i'll make sure alice is as annoying as promised and that annabeth isn't some dumb giggling blonde chick. :D and of course, percy will be the sweet, clueless hot guy that everybody loves. (for reals now, lol) BYE!**


	3. Secrets and Surprises

-BELLA'S POV-

Charlie was strangely quiet during dinner. I mean, he usually doesn't talk much anyways, but today he was silent. Sullen. Glaring at his steak and fries, which was weird considering how much he loved them. Finally I spoke up.

"Dad, what's wrong?" He looked up at me and sighed.

"I guess it's time to tell you. Remember your Aunt Sally? She came over with her son over here to Forks about twelve years ago for his fifth birthday, and you almost set the house on fire?"

Really, dad? I grimaced. "Unfortunately."

Charlie's mouth twitched with the most microscopic of smiles, but his expression almost immediately turned dark again. "Well, she, uh, passed away in a car accident with her fiance a couple of weeks ago."

My jaw dropped. "Oh, Dad, I'm so sorry! That's horrible." Aunt Sally was Charlie's adopted sister, and she was, literally, the most wonderful, caring, kind hearted woman in the world, especially for someone who had suffered so much. She had been orphaned at age five in a plane crash, and then sent to her Uncle who hardly cared about her, and forced her to drop out of school because he was sick. I remembered her as the beautiful, kind woman who always smiled and laughed and made everyone around her feel good. But now she was dead. A spark of light and happiness, shining brightly in the dark, vanished...

"And," Charlie said, interrupting my thoughts, "her son, Percy, is coming over to Forks to live with us."

Holy crap. Percy? I hadn't seen him in so long...and he was coming here? With us? Charlie grimaced again.

"And here's the thing. Since there isn't any room in our house, you and Percy will be going to live with the Cullens." Whoa there. That was unexpected.

"Um...wow! That's a shocker. When's he coming?" I managed. "Next week." I nodded. That was soon, but it was enough time for me to stomach everything...I hoped. Charlie leaned in a bit.

"Well, you remember him, right?" I nodded. The happy-go-lucky kid with the messy black hair and sea-green eyes. Who always teased me about setting the house on fire on his birthday. The jerkface.

"Well, he's had it rough. When he was twelve, he was abducted and chased across the country by some crazed gunman. Police later caught him, but he went through a lot. He had an abusive stepfather, who disappeared about a week later he was sent home, and was never seen since. He's diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, and has been kicked out of every school he attended within a year. He was kidnapped...and well, he learned to fight quickly to save his life. Around the same time his mom died, his girlfriend disappeared. That happy kid is gone. He's had a tough time, so, just help him out, okay? Percy's not a criminal or anything. I'm sure he's still a nice guy. It's just...he's been through a lot."

Wow. It wasn't everyday where you were kidnapped, orphaned, and lost all your loved ones. Poor Percy. He was such a happy kid... I nodded.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see."

-A WEEK LATER, DAY OF PERCY'S ARRIVAL-

Charlie woke me up, which was unusual. He normally didn't even bother coming into my room in the mornings, since he knew from experience how ugly things could get if you woke up a sleepy Bella. Luckily, I had slept early last night and wasn't as grumpy. I made a very intelligent sound, like "hmmmmmmmm" (groan) (yawn) "nnnnnnn?" Charlie chuckled.

"Get up, Bells. We got to go to the airport, remember? Get ready, sleepyhead. I'll meet you downstairs in thirty minutes." I nodded sleepily and motioned for him to get out. When he did, I stretched, yawning. Grabbing a towel from the rack, I headed towards the shower and slapped it on, only to get assaulted by a jet of steaming water. I cursed and jumped back. Yep, I was definitely awake now. Ugh.

We arrived at the airport in an hour, and I was nervous. What if he hated me? What if he was depressed? Poor Percy. Why did he have to go through so much at such a young age? I heard Charlie suck in a breath, and he squeezed my hand. I looked up, startled, and saw a distant,

dark-haired figure by the baggage claim. He seemed to be looking for someone. I gasped.

"Oh my god, is that him?" Charlie nodded. "Yep." Then he raised his hand and waved it frantically. I could feel my cheeks heat up as numerous heads turned toward us. "Percy!" he called.

The guy turned, and headed towards us. I didn't know what I was expecting. A criminal-looking dude, rough and rugged, ready to kill someone at any moment? What I saw was the complete opposite. He was...handsome. Percy still had that windblown black hair, and the sea-green eyes. There seemed to be a slightly fading grey streak in his hair (weird), and he looked a heck of a lot taller, fitter, and...well, cuter. Percy had shot up and towered a good six inches above me. About 6"0, 6"1, maybe. His skin was a deep, even, California-dude tan (yeah, although he was a New Yorker), and chiseled muscles stood out subtly, yet noticeably enough for people to see- like a Roman statue, perfectly sculpted and defined. His eyes were that same, crystalline shade of sea green, but the aura of them had changed. Instead of that clear, bright happy color, they seemed a fraction darker, deeper, swirling with sorrow and pain. All in all, if I hadn't already fallen for Edward, Percy would definitely have been on my Boyfriend-to-consider list. When he saw us, his eyes immediately brightened a bit, which gave me hope, and his lips rose into a small smile, and walked over, waving. Charlie navigated us through most of the conversation, and I just smiled and nodded and occasionally blushed (stupid birthday candles) and tried to look as involved as possible. Percy's lightheartedness seemed to take all of us off guard. From the way he acted, he looked like a normal teen, but his eyes betrayed the truth. In about an hour we were at the Cullens' house, assembled in the living room, while Percy was in his room, taking a shower.

"So," I asked everyone. "What do you think?" Emmett was the first one to respond.

"He's pretty cool."

I nodded, although that wasn't the answer I was looking for. "Awesome at dissing Alice," Emmett added, bobbing his head thoughtfully. Alice glared at him and muttered something about idiot boys under her breath.

Thankfully, Jasper spoke up. "I can't influence his emotions. I can read them, though, to some degree. Sorrow, pain, longing, anger, bitterness. That's all I feel. Except for the brief happiness when he saw Alice or when we showed him his room. That's all. I'm guessing he lost someone, or a lot of someones, recently." Interesting.

"Alice? What about you?" I asked. She shook her head solemnly. "He's been through so much, even more than any of us. Percy, all his friends...they're not entirely human. They are immensely powerful, and may be the only beings aside from the werewolves that can destroy one of us. But you'll have to figure the rest out on your own. It won't be fair if I just tell you. He's lost so much...his parents, his friends, all he's ever cared about. Look at the last bead on his necklace. All the symbols on there...they're for each person that died last year." Her comment was met by gasps. I remembered his necklace, the one he always kept hidden beneath his shirt. Five clay beads, on a cord, with drawings or inscriptions on them. The last bead was covered with gold symbols, no, words...in Greek? And they were the names of all he had lost.

"I can't seem to read much of his thoughts, either, except for the ones that aren't too personal. That's why I was laughing a bit earlier, he's quite funny." Edward noted.

"Alice," I ventured. "Are you...one of them?" She shook her head.

"No, but I'm closely related. What Percy said about a summer camp was true. They helped me, took me in. Then I left, and became what I am." She shrugged as Percy sauntered down the stairs, in a light blue shirt and jeans, drying his hair with a towel.

"Ah," Esme stood and clapped her hands. "Just in time for dinner, Percy."

He grinned. "It smells great. Is that pasta I see?" Esme laughed and nodded. Percy practically sprinted to the kitchen.

He ate even more than Jacob, which was saying a lot. I stared at him with wide eyes as he helped himself to another bowlful of pasta. He flashed a lopsided grin at me and carried his loaded plate back to the table. Emmett seemed extremely amused by Percy, and I could tell why. There was a certain endearing aura of cluelessness about him, although he didn't seem entirely stupid. More like...obtuse. Still, I couldn't help but think back to what Alice had said earlier. Percy seemed so light hearted, so cheerful and bright. After he took a walk, we resumed our conversation.

"Alice," Esme begged. "Please, could you tell us anything?" To my disappointment, she shook her head solemnly.

"I'm sorry, Esme, but it's not my place to tell you. You need to figure it out on your-" Her eyes snapped wide open. "Oh, gods. Oh my gods. Percy. We need to go, now!"

The next thing I knew, I was in Edward's arms, and the whole coven was flying towards Percy, following his distinctive, salty sweet scent, and the only thing I could register was the fact that Alice had said _gods_.

**i am soooo beginning to love the cliffies. and i'm sure you love me for that. unfortunately, this is the end of the chunk i've written so far, so i'm expecting about a week before the next chapter. i'm really sorry, but i will SERIOUSLY try to get some writing in this week. also, (again) be on the lookout for my new story, (i've decided to call it American Exchange, after one of my sister's fave shopping hotspots, lol :D) the hp + pj crossover. obviously, perce and his amigos are american exchange students at hoggy hoggy hogwarts, etc, etc. CHECK IT OUT! i think it will be one of my better stories, as i have quite a few ideas as for where i'll be going with it. but, for now, _adios, amigos!_ (sorry for the random spanishness. i had a sudden urge. XD BYE)**


	4. Battlefield

-PERCY'S POV-

A wave of agony rolled through me as I flew across the clearing and into a heavy stone. Groaning, I got to my feet and looked around for my attacker, wielding Riptide. Its bronze blade glowed dully in the sunlight. A pack of hellhounds, empousa, and a dozen snake women- dracaenae.

An assembled army not unlike what we had faced last year, in the Williamsburg Bridge. Crap.

The first hellhound lunged. I sidestepped easily and my battle instincts took over as I fought like a hurricane. Slash, dodge, parry, strike, sidestep, roll, block, slash, jump, slash, duck. The monsters were reduced into a pile of dust until only two dracaenae, one empousa, and a hellhound were left. The empousa bared her fangs at me. Her form flickered, sometimes a beautiful blonde, sometimes a terrifying monster with mismatched legs, flickering with flames. She lunged. I swung my sword, and blondie disintegrated with a screech. One down, three to go.

I caught the dracaenae off guard, whirling before she even had a chance to attack, and she, too, joined Blondie in Tartarus.

Two more. Just two more. Come on, Perce, you can do it.

The hellhounds were the monsters I dreaded the most. One glance, and instead of a furious, ruby-eyed monster, I saw a loving pet, Mrs. O'Leary, who bounded forward to lick my face, who saved Chiron's life, who came to our rescue years before in the Labyrinth, who keened for her old master, Daedalus. I blinked just as the hellhound pounced. Stunned, I slashed with Riptide, killing it, but not without getting a good sized cut on my chest.

Last one. Just one more. One left.

The last one was the biggest, and I feared, the smartest. It refused to attack, knowing that with a flash of my blade it would be gone, but instead circled me warily, growling and baring its huge fangs.

Great. Just what I need. An Annabeth-possessed hellhound...Annabeth. Annabeth. I froze.

I remembered her golden hair, tumbling down her back in silky waves, her beautiful grey eyes, how she had taken a knife for me in the Titan War, how she would always laugh, put her arms around me, and give me a kiss every time I did something stupid. This, a painful glimpse into the past, into my old life, was enough to make me completely frozen, vulnerable, defenseless.

The hellhound lunged.

I ducked, snapping out of my gaze, but too late. Blood seeped out of a deep gash on my arm, and I screamed, clutching Riptide so hard my knuckles turned white. The thing pounced again, knocking me to the ground, like Mrs. O'Leary, when she used to-...

_No Percy, you can't black out like this! That life is over. Gone. She's gone. Your mom's gone. Paul's gone. You have nothing left in your life except you. You can't afford to get distracted like this in the middle of a battle! You'll die if you don't try harder. Get up! Stab it! GO!_

In a daze, I saw myself-not the battered, bruised, beat-up Percy lying in a meadow at the mercy of a hellhound, but another me- confident, rugged, my eyes brooding and shining with an intense light that conveyed both pain and grief, but triumph, too. He offered me his hand, and his form shimmered. In his place was a beautiful girl with blonde princess curls and stormy grey eyes, sparkling with amusement. She wore an orange t-shirt and frayed denim shorts, but she was more beautiful than any goddess I'd ever seen.

Annabeth.

_Annabeth. _

Something to live for. A reason not to give up, a reason to keep going.

_Come on, Seaweed Brain, don't leave me hanging. Take my hand. _

I reached up and took her hand.

Her image faded. "Annabeth..." I choked out. "Don't...go..._please..._" I drew in a shuddering breath.

She reached out, a ghost of a smile lingering on her face. _I'm sorry. I love you. Get out of this alive, Seaweed Brain, won't you? For me? _

She vanished.

A lone tear traced its way down my bloodied cheek, and I opened my eyes. It hadn't even lasted a second in reality. Annabeth. _Get out of this alive, Seaweed Brain, won't you? For me? _

I knew the answer, of course.

_For you and for you only. I love you. _

I sprang up and slashed at the thing with Riptide. It yelped and jumped away, but I still managed to graze its snout. Adrenaline, love, anger, passion, rushed through my veins, a toxic, deadly mixture of fire that coursed through me like acid. My instincts took over.

Slash, back, dodge, roll, ignore the huge bloody wounds that you have, etc.

I lunged again with Riptide and stabbed its shoulder. My sword point missed its furry black shoulder by a fraction of an inch, and I growled.

_Finish it off. Kill it. _

We kept our distance, circling each other apprehensively. I studied the huge beast, trying to predict its movements from the oversized muscles, rippling under the dense black fur. It tensed.

It was going to pounce. I was sure.

But this time I would be ready.

It pounced.

I held my ground for one more second, then jumped out of the way last minute. It snarled, lashing out with its claws, and I blocked the attack.

_Come on!_

It lunged again. I swung Riptide.

The hellhound disintegrated, golden dust blowing away in the wind.

Blood rushed down, and I collapsed to my knees. My vision became fuzzy and disoriented. Images swirled in my head. Blinking through the haze, I could just barely see the outline of a pixie-like girl, her dark hair short and golden eyes wide with worry.

"Hey, Alice," I muttered, smiling weakly. "I'm kinda out of practice, don't you think?"

That was the last thing I remembered before blacking out.

* * *

**okay sorry that was, hands down, a truly sucky chapter. short and meaningless, like a filler. **

**i apologize. especially for all that dramaticness. **

**hopefully i can update again (with a less suckier chapter) by this weekend, depending on how much hw i get. **

**the load has been fairly low this week, much to my delight! :D**

**but...teachers are evil creatures. you never know when they'll throw out a last minute project. **

**or worse- a pre-picked ****_group_**** project. **

**man, those are the worst. i mean, how do they expect us to work together in PRE-PICKED GROUPS?!**

**sorry. i had to get that out of my system. **

**on another completely unrelated note, for those of you book-devouring teens searching for some good reads, here are a few of my favorite, extremely well-written books.**

**1. Soldier X by Don L. Wulffson**

**2. Waterfall (The River of Time Series) by Lisa Tawn Bergren**

**3. Divergent (the almost-trilogy. eep! third book is coming soon, i think!) by Veronica Roth**

**4. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donelly**

**5. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar (it's not very deep, but it's super geeky funny. i was literally rofling the whole time i read this. there are a few emotional moments, though. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR A LIGHT, HUMOROUS READ!)**

**6. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson**

**7. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton**

**8. The Giver by Lois Lowry**

**9. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card**

**10. Any Ray Bradbury short stories or novels including**

**-Fahrenheight 451 (spell that right? :\)**

**-The Veldt**

**-All Summer in a Day**

**-The Martian Chronicles**

**-The Illustrated Man**

**...and much more! Bradbury is an incredible sci-fi/mystery writer. **

**try them! i promise, you won't regret it. each of them are brilliant works by brilliant authors, and will set great examples for future reading and writing! please read!**

**and, for the meantime...**

**BYE! 3**


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